Suspect jailed in US Bank robbery case

Related Media

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - A Denver man arrested June 15 for a pair of bank robberies in Colorado Springs was charged Monday with the April 27 robbery of US Bank in Glenwood Springs.

Mark Douglas Osterloo, 45, is being charged with aggravated robbery, felony theft and felony menacing for the Glenwood Springs robbery. He is being held in the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs on a total bond of $120,000.

Osterloo was nabbed in Denver one day after the June 14 robbery of a Vectra Bank at 5710 Palmer Park Blvd. in Colorado Springs. He is also charged with robbing The Bank at Broadmoor, 440 Chapel Hills Drive, on June 4, according to an affidavit filed in Garfield District Court by the Glenwood Springs Police Department on Monday.

A break in the case came when a worker spotted a man sprinting out of the Vectra Banks after that robbery.

A Colorado Springs police detective investigating the robbery spoke to a worker at a nearby automotive shop. The man had seen a suspicious person run across the street from the bank, get into a black Volkswagen Jetta and drive off. The worker jotted down the license plate number and gave it to police.

The car was registered to Osterloo, and police obtained his driver's license information, including a photo, to create a photographic lineup of Osterloo and five other men.

Officers presented the lineup to both Colorado Springs bank tellers. The teller from the June 4 robbery chose Osterloo from the lineup with 95 percent certainty, and the teller from the June 14 robbery selected him as well, but with a 70 percent certainty, according to the Glenwood Springs affidavit.

Colorado Springs authorities issued an arrest warrant, and Osterloo was arrested in Denver June 15 and booked at the Denver County Jail.

By the following Monday, June 18, Glenwood Springs police had the six-man photographic lineup in hand to show to two witnesses in the US Bank robbery, which occurred at about 1:40 p.m. on April 27.

The US Bank teller chose Osterloo from the lineup with a certainty of 70 to 80 percent, the affidavit reported.

"As soon as she viewed all six photos, [the teller] placed Osterloo's down on the table, pointed to it and stated, 'That was the guy in my bank,' " according to the affidavit. The teller told police she would have been more certain if the man in the photo had been wearing glasses or a hat.

A second witness, a bank customer who the teller served just prior to the robbery, chose another person from the photo lineup with just a 50 percent certainty, although she was considering the photo of Osterloo as well. The customer noted that she had not witnessed the robbery, and just noticed the man walk in the bank from the back door.

The Glenwood Springs arrest affidavit also compares the circumstances of the three robberies and found similarities in the robber's appearance and the way he carried out the crimes.

In all three cases, the robber presented a handwritten note and told the teller to give him all their bundles of $100, $50 and $20 bills. In the Glenwood Springs robbery, he made off with $6,000. In the Colorado Springs robberies, he stole $3,250 on June 4 and $2,460 on June 14.

All three tellers feared the man had a gun, but never saw one. At US Bank, the teller said he kept his right hand in the pocket of a hooded sweatshirt, leading her to believe he had a gun.

In each case, the robber was wearing a baseball hat and glasses, khaki-colored shorts and tennis shoes, and wore a goatee.

Based on the evidence, Glenwood Springs police obtained a warrant for Osterloo on Monday. Since he was already in custody, the Glenwood Springs robbery charge was added on to the charges already filed by Colorado Springs.

Glenwood Springs Police Lt. Bill Kimminau said teamwork among the different agencies led to the arrest warrant for the local robbery.

"Usually that's the way these things get solved. Everybody gets together and it all falls into place," Kimminau said.

Police Chief Terry Wilson also praised US Bank for reacting properly during the robbery.

"The professionalism and calm response of our local bank employees was key to this successful outcome," Wilson said in a written statement.